My parents always told me that they never figured out what they wanted to do with their lives until they were well into college. I know personally several people who changed their majors 3 times in the span of a few months. Therefore, it was only natural to receive weird looks and snickers as a child when I knew exactly what to do with my life at such a young age.

I was born and raised in a country where violence is a daily occurrence and I spent 9 years of my life there. No, I’m not talking about the United States, but a far less known country in the middle of Central America–El Salvador. Although my parents always provided the best for my brother Luis (who is 5 years younger than I) and me, there was not much of an opportunity to move up the ladder. It came as a surprise to my mom and dad when I told them I wanted to do something related to the skies. My mother worked in Iberia as a saleswoman, and that was the closest anyone could get to the clouds without being a pilot. I don’t know exactly what pushed me in that direction. Maybe it was the thrill of the conquest of the unknown, and maybe it was just a secret desire to have been born as a bird.

In 2002, a breakthrough happened. My dad got offered a job in Miami, Florida. Our first apartment here, which was offered to him by his company for a few months, was located only a few miles from Miami International Airport. I delighted myself every night sitting on the balcony staring at the airplanes land, much to my mother’s disapproval, since we were so high up in the air. When it came time to buy our new house, I bothered my dad to be near airplanes. I guess it worked, since we ended up just 2 miles from Tamiami Airport.

Fast forward to the present, my family now lives in San Ramon, California (which is about an hour east of San Francisco). I stand where I always dreamed of being. I am an Aerospace Engineering major (my eyesight prevents me from being a pilot) at one of the best schools in the country. I have to admit, though, that Embry-Riddle wasn’t exactly my first choice. Neither my parents nor I had heard of this school–maybe since we had lived abroad for so long. After doing some research during my senior year, I narrowed my choices to 7 schools–SUPAERO in southern France, Georgia Tech, UTexas-Austin, UCF, UF, and Florida Institute of Technology and, of course, Riddle. After visiting most of these schools at the end of the fall, my pick became evident. Honestly, the campus did not catch my eye at first. It is a more suburban city than I was used to back in Miami, and the school itself is pretty small compared to the other state schools I was used to. However, after pondering on it for a while, and after visiting the amazing labs around, I couldn’t resist.

So far, I don’t regret my choice at all. You get to really know the people around you. The best advice I have is come to the open houses the campus offers in the fall and the spring (I believe they are held in October and April). I met some of the best friends I have in those days. Another great tip? Whatever school you decide on going to, Facebook-stalk your future classmates! Well, maybe just join the c/o 2015 pages that are cropping up around the net. Hands down, this is the best way to find others with the same interests as you do, and you never know! Your best friend might be just a click away!

P.S: Feel free to contact me with any questions you might have–whether you’re a girl seeking a friend (the “Riddle Ratio” is pretty evident–though most people you ask exaggerate it.), or you’re just seeking unbiased advice from a college freshman. My e-mail is up top (adrianaosegueda@hotmail.com), or you can also find me on Facebook (facebook.com/itsadri)

Hello! I would like to start by introducing myself. My name is Pete Greco, and I am a sophomore at Embry-Riddle in the Business Administration program, Air Transportation Concentration. I am honored to be able to write this and help give you some insight into the school and what it is like being a student here.

I was born in Connecticut and attended Hamden Hall Country Day School in Hamden, CT from 7th until 12th grade. Long before this time, however, I knew that I wanted to be involved in aviation. Early on in high school, I found out about Embry-Riddle from a friend of mine, and I quickly started to realize that it really is the school to go to if you want to be involved in aviation.

Coming from a small, private high school where I was the only person interested in aviation in the least bit, it was a huge change to enter Embry-Riddle and find people everywhere who were the same way. Whenever a jet would depart from Daytona Beach International Airport (which, as you may know, adjoins the campus), everybody’s head would look up to see what it was that had just departed. It really is a powerful thing for someone who loves airplanes as much as I.

My freshman year at Riddle was very exciting, to say the least. There are several other journals on this website that feature freshman writers, so I will not get too far into it, but I will say a few things. Firstly, if you are from the northern United States like me, you better love warm weather, because there is plenty of it here. Being someone who doesn’t do cold, I love this aspect of it. Other friends I know do not. I lived in McKay Hall, which I believe to be the best freshman dorm on campus. It features private bathrooms and doors that open up to a balcony—no need to go down stairs to be outside. I did not have my car freshman year, so that posed a few challenges, but you will quickly make friends that do have cars and who will drive you where you need to go. One thing that my friends and I enjoyed doing freshman year, and still do, is heading down to Orlando to visit Walt Disney World or Universal Orlando—even if just for dinner. One memory I still carry is from the very beginning of freshman year when we travelled down to Titusville to watch the night launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery. What an incredible sight and definitely one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed in my 20 years.

Let’s jump ahead now to the present. One thing I do want to mention is that while I am a Business Administration/Air Transportation major, I am also a Flight minor. I conducted flight training at Embry-Riddle’s flight department and received my Private Pilot Certificate on April 6th, 2010. As a result, I also have insight into flying at Embry-Riddle. It is always a great time, even though occasionally it gets stressful and tense. In the end, however, you are receiving a very high level of training and training that is airline-oriented to prepare you for a future career. I will let the Aeronautical Science students on here explain this more to you, however.

I have wanted to be an airline pilot for as long as I can remember, In fact, my mother has found drawings I made in the first grade featuring a very poorly drawn Delta Air Lines Boeing 747 with the caption, “When I get older, I want to fly a Delta 747.” I still want to be a pilot, and am, however I have realized that the state of the pilot market at this point in time is not stable enough for me to put all of my eggs in one basket and I want to make myself more marketable and have more career options. As a result, I changed my major to Business Administration and picked up a flight minor. In my opinion, this prepares you better for life after college than a pure flight degree would. I intend to get all of my ratings and re-evaluate the market upon graduating. As I will describe later on, however, I have found another aspect of aviation that I love as much as flying, so I definitely have some decisions to make later on.

During my senior year of high school, I was fortunate to have an internship at my local airport in Connecticut, Tweed New Haven Regional Airport (HVN). At this time, I was still dead-set on being an airline pilot and was focused on only that. As a result, when I began the internship, I knew little about any other aspect of aviation besides flying. During my internship, though, I was introduced to a part of aviation that I always knew existed subconsciously but never made anything of it.

I am referring to Airport Operations. Any of you who fly at airports with commercial service will notice occasionally vehicles driving down the runways and taxiways conducting “inspections,” or shooting off pyrotechnics for wildlife control, but probably also don’t think much of it. What you see these individuals doing is only the visible part of the job, however. It is a job that is extremely detailed and one that requires a great deal of time and effort. Just as there are Federal Aviation Regulations that you must learn and abide to as pilots, there is a whole set of regulations that airports must abide by—specifically Part 139—and it is Airport Operations’ job to ensure that the airport and all people on it and using it meet these regulations. Essentially, you are in charge of every little thing that happens at the airport and make sure it runs smoothly on a day-to-day basis.

My internship opened my eyes to this and made me realize flying wasn’t the only way I could be actively, hands-on involved in aviation every day. So, my second aspiration became to work Airport Operations at a major airport.

This desire became a reality for me, partly, this summer. When I returned home, I got a call from Tweed airport stating that two of the Airport Operations Supervisors had left to pursue other jobs, and asking if I would work there for the summer, full-time, as one. I couldn’t believe the opportunity I was given: I would be able to work in a position that I was going to college for after only completing one year of school! As the summer went on and the airport administration saw my work, an offer was extended to me to return to Tweed every time I was home from college, and after I graduate. To top it off, they sent me to Chicago, IL for a week to attend the American Association of Airport Executives’ (AAAE) Basic Airport Safety and Operations School (ASOS). In addition, I was trained in Aircraft Rescue Firefighting (ARFF), as part of my job at Tweed, being a smaller airport, was to operate the $750,000 2007 Rosenbauer Panther 4×4 fire apparatus, pictured.

I have now moved back to Embry-Riddle and just finished getting settled in. I was lucky to have gotten the top floor of Apollo, the newest dorm on campus, at the far South end looking straight over Daytona Beach International Airport. The view is incredible; there isn’t a thing that you can’t see. Last year, my suitemate was lucky to have gotten number 24 in the housing lottery, so we essentially got our pick over dorms.

Since I have been back at Embry-Riddle, my friends and I have already had some great experiences. I believe that it is crucial to make the effort and to not just sit around all the time, or party constantly (although, as you will find, there is definitely time for that). Instead, you need to go out and try to meet as many people as you can. I know my friends and I do, which is why we are able to have so many awesome experiences. Last week, I went to one of my suitemate’s houses for dinner in Sanford, and on the way back to Riddle, we decided to stop by Orlando-Sanford international Airport. When we pulled to the FBO, we saw an F/A-18 crew chatting to some flight instructors in the lobby. We joined in on the conversation, and the next thing we knew, we were out on the ramp being shown the aircraft by the crew and watching them do a full-afterburner departure. What a sight.

Then, last weekend, my friends and I went to Walt Disney World outside of Orlando—something that (if you are anything like me) you will be glad to know is only about an hour away. We purchased Annual Passes, and already are planning to return there this coming weekend. We covered the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT, and this weekend we will go to the rest of the parks. The Universal Orlando Resort—featuring Universal Studios Orlando and Universal’s Islands of Adventures—are even closer, plus all of the other great attractions Orlando and the surrounding areas have to offer.

Well, I think you are pretty much all caught up on me! I am looking forward to writing for you all in the coming months, and please do not hesitate to e-mail me with any questions at all. I will be sure to keep you updated with everything going on with me!

Talk to you soon!

Pete

Hey everyone, my name is Alex Munro and I am so excited to be writing these journals so you can try to learn about my experiences here at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Since this is my first entry, I would like to start by letting you get to know me a little bit better.

Although I spent most of my life in my home state of Maryland, I was actually born in the United Kingdom, specifically Scotland. Growing up overseas, my passport saw a lot of miles. Some people don’t even fly until they are 10 or so. My first flight was when I was approximately 6 months old and once I was old enough to know what aircraft I was going on to get to my destination, I loved to visit the cockpit. You see before 9/11, kids were allowed to tour the cockpit, meet the captain, and even take some pictures. This even strengthened my interest for aviation. When I was six, I moved over to the United State and once here, my home town became Annapolis, Maryland’s capital. I attended and graduated from Broadneck High School in June 2010. Ever since the beginning of my senior year, I knew I wanted to go to Embry-Riddle. Quick story: one night, I searched; “best school to become a pilot,” and top result was Embry-Riddle. After that I did some research, fell in love, and decided to visit and tour the campus several times. While some students answered the question “Which college do you plan on going to?” as “undecided” or “not sure”, I responded confidently, “Embry-Riddle.”

My major is called Aeronautical Science and is one of the most popular majors here at ERAU. It’s a fancy name and when people hear it, they aren’t too sure what it is. In basic terminology, the major is “Professional Pilot.” With that major you have the preferable choice of flight. I’m guessing since you want to be a pilot, it would make sense that you should know how to fly. Embry-Riddle is great for it. Our flight line is right next to Daytona Beach International Airport. Planes are always flying when you go to class you will always here the noise of propellers turning or the roaring of engines. Now although I have traveled commercially on vacations, I had never been in the cockpit controlling the aircraft. So if you are planning on coming to Embry-Riddle and fly, make sure you love flying. Take a first lesson in your hometown, just so you know you will enjoy flying and won’t get motion sickness. I had my “discovery flight” and it was basically love at first flight. The sensation of seeing everything from the sky is amazing. Even better, you can brag to your friends. While they were studying Chemistry or History, you were flying over one of the most famous beaches with your shades on smiling and enjoying your “class”.

Zipping to the present, I am currently a freshman here at Embry-Riddle. It is my fourth week of classes and still in love and finding more and more reasons why I love this place. The move-in experience was great. You will be assigned to one of several dorms: Adams, Doolittle, Mckay, or Woods. I live in McKay which I believe is the best dorm, honestly, I could be biased but that’s our little secret. It’s older than the others but so much roomier. It used to be a motel and you only have to share your bathroom with one person, where in Doolittle, eight people to one bathroom area. During the move-in the staff was very helpful and the Orientation team, or the O-team as they like to be called, was amazing at planning events to get people mingling, informed, and to adjust to the college life. I hope to become part of the O-team next year Fall 2011, so maybe once your moved in I might be running down your hall, banging on your door, reminding you to come to the show.

Please feel free to email me at munroa@my.erau.edu or add me on facebook, www.facebook.com/ajmunro. I also have a twitter which you can follow me: www.twitter.com/itsalexanu I hope to update it more frequently of events on campus. Thank you guys for reading my story, I hope I didn’t bore you too much, and I would like to congratulate you guys on considering Embry Riddle as your future “nest.”

Sincerely,

Alex Munro

Hello everyone!

My name is Hannah Langhorn and I am a resident of Daytona Beach, Florida. I grew up here for the majority of my life (excluding 5 years when I lived in St. Petersburg near Tampa then moved back). I am a part of the Communication program at ERAU (Daytona Beach Campus) and I am working towards a minor in psychology. I chose to attend ERAU for some of the most obvious reasons; mainly having an amazing academics program and having smaller class sizes where you can actually get to know your professors one on one (as supposed to being know as just a “number”). And, for some of the less obvious reasons; anytime I would visit the campus I felt really confident that Riddle would be the best place for me to continue my education. A big benefit was it being close to home (unlike many of the people I have come in contact with) but it’s great because anytime I come on campus it feels like I left considering so many of the students are from out of state and a good portion out of the country. Being that I am a freshman, my experience so far has been quite the learning experience. Not only is it an adjustment getting used to the classes, but as with many, the constant questioning of how you are going to meet people on campus. For someone who wasn’t always as outgoing it can seem intimidating to walk up to random people and say hi but with all honesty, it is really hard to walk an hour on this campus and not have at least one person say hi or at least share a smile. I’m learning what places to not eat at too much because when you do you develop a slight addiction (Chick-fil-a). And the dining places I still have yet to try such as Propellers (rumored to have the BEST burgers on campus and some say town).

Each day on campus is never the same, and if I might add this is a great thing in my opinion. College can teach you a lot if you let it, not only via classroom but even the act of getting a little lost on your first day or walking into a classroom and realizing halfway through it’s not your own. But, don’t worry none of this is to alarm in any way but really to encourage. Coming from high school to college can be so nerve wracking and for some extremely hard; leaving family behind and old friends everything we took for granted somehow seems overly significant and holds sentimental values for us now. Just as with the cons though, there are plenty of positives and though not readily viewable with time they grow and we see them as clearly as the hot sun blaring down on us all (it’s a Florida thing). In the words of an inspiring pilot who broke boundaries and expectations by flying solo across the Atlantic Ocean (New York to Paris, France); “A life without risk is not worth living.” -Charles Lindbergh.

Trust, college is only one of the many adventures that will come in life and it’s all a matter of how we take these challenges that life throws at us. I’m proud to be an Eagle and wear my blue and gold. It’s hard to describe the feeling and is something, well, that’ll you’ll just have to discover on your own.

I have really been enjoying my time is an Eagle thus far and I’m positive that my years to come will be a great experience growing me as a person both professionally and socially.